Sunday, January 15, 2012

Sunset in Zanzibar

Walking back slowly from Stone town along the water front, navigating through the evening crowds, recording every moment of this last evening, her only aim being to get back to her hostel before it became too dark, what with all the hostel warnings about it not being too safe at nights.

And once again, she was struck by how much the scene in front of her felt like home – the sharp smell of the sea in the air, the waves rising high and splashing spray all over the pavement, families, friends and lovers sitting along the waterfront, in the park seats and under the trees, in conversation or just watching the sea, a bunch of young boys appearing to have some contest in jumping off the pavement into the water, vendors in the Forodhani market peddling food of every variety for the stomach willing to chance it...

As she waved through the crowds, watching the scene ahead of her, it suddenly struck her the time for the sunset wasn’t far away. Putting aside her fear of getting late, she raced to find a spot to catch the first one for the year.

There is something about being in a place so far removed from the regularity of everyday life, lost in the anonymity of the crowds, where you could suddenly be anyone, anything you wanted to be. The vacation was coming to an end, but the memories would stay. There was hope in the air, and a feeling that anything was possible… a sense of new beginnings. New year or not. ;)

3 comments:

Absolutely beautiful :) I find it rather surreal to be afraid of going out in the dark (I live in a very safe area) and even though I've been places where you shouldn't go out in the dark I find it just as strange every time...

@ Erika, thanks! I later realised i had mis-read the hostel warning a bit... they had said not to use one particular road from 7PM, and not, that it was unsafe from 7PM. but, they had a 10PM curfew. many of the roads aren't lit, and the alleyways are a maze and many deserted, so if u felt lost, u could panic! it was the last evening, and in the end, i stayed out later than i had planned!

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Notes from places I have been to, I am going to go to, I hope to ever get to, glimpses of the cities I live in , my photographic exploits, and a personal anecdote or two...Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover...